Bella the Vampire Slayer
by mandycullen
Summary: When half-vampire Bella's hunt goes wrong and she becomes the hunted, she's forced into an unlikely partnership with vampire Edward and his comrade Jacob. Does being undead really equal to being a monster? That's a lesson Bella will have to learn. AU/OOC
1. Of Fangs and Proposals

**A/N: this is the new (and hopefully improved) version of my story of the same name in YouTube. In case anyone is interested, my username on YT is **_**TwilightEpisodes**_**. **

**For those of you who are already familiar with the story, the main difference between this FF version and the original YT version is that the third main character is introduced right at the beginning, while they only appeared much later on in the original.**

_**Disclaimer:**_** I don't own Twilight or its characters. If I did, Bella would be a very different person from the fang-loving girl she is **_**(note fanfiction title)**_**!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

_**Of Fangs and Proposals**_

People complain about having terrible families, but they don't know how lucky they really are. After all, at least they're still all human. Don't get me wrong, I've always known what I am. How could I not? I grew up with abilities other children didn't have. I won every race when I was little, I could see in the dark better than I should, and by 5th grade I could take on all the high-schoolers in my school - not that I tested that… frequently.

But, like my mother used to tell me, I couldn't just go around flaunting those abilities. After all, humans still thought there were no such thing as vampires. But I knew better than that; I knew those beasts roamed the streets at night, in search of their prey. So I learned to hide my differences, learned to control the beastly part of me I'd inherited from my father.

Now that my mother's gone, only Alice, my older sister, knows what I am. Nobody else even suspects I have vampire in me. Not even those I hunt.

"Beautiful girls should never drink alone," a voice said from beside me.

I turned on my bar stool to face the man who'd spoken to me. He didn't know it, but I had my eye on him since he'd walked through the front door. Dark brown hair framing a classically handsome face, skin as smooth as marble and as pale as snow - almost identical to my own - only accenting his deep dark eyes. Everything about him yelled vampire.

"Are you here all alone?" he continued, inviting himself to the stool beside mine.

"Not anymore." With a half-smile, I arched an eyebrow and twined a finger into a lock of my light brown hair. This one is not getting away. It was a slow night for vampires in this old off-the-road bar, and I was hoping this wouldn't take so long.

"What's your name?" His gaze lingering on my neck and he licked his lips hungrily. I did a mental eye-roll.

"Bella Hunter," I smiled. He didn't get how meaningful my fictional surname was just yet. He would, eventually, but when he did, he wouldn't live long enough to do anything about it. "Yours?"

"Ian McCoy," he smiled back, showing perfectly squared teeth. "So, Bella, aren't you a little young to be drinking?" he asked, eyeing my half-empty glass.

I leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially, "Well, yes, but I borrowed my sister's ID. We look so similar the bouncer didn't notice it."

"Oh…" he grinned. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. Another drink to the young lady over here!" he waved the bartender over.

After twenty minutes of meaningless chatter and a few glasses of gin, I told him I'd call a cab and leave. Being the gentleman he wanted me to think he was, he offered me a ride. How considerate. Too bad he'd be dead by the end of this date.

"Thansss…" I slurred. I was far from drunk, thanks to my vampire half, but giving the impression of an easy prey was always good. It gave them the impression they were in control. Ha.

The vampire escorted me outside the bar. I stopped when we got to the small parking lot behind the building where he'd left his shiny Mercedes sedan at. The vampire walked to the driver's side and I to the passenger's. This was my cue, I knew better than to get into a cramped car with a fanged beast. "Ian?"

"Yes?" He raised an eyebrow as I wobbled around the car to where he stood.

"Kiss me." He didn't hesitate, pushing me lightly against the car and lowering his lips to mine. They were all the same, jumping at the chance to take advantage of a drunk girl. I immediately slipped a hand into the purse I was holding and curled my fingers around the stake in there.

He pulled away, his pupils dilating. I knew what he was trying to do: compel me with gaze. I'd seen other vampires do that before, but it never worked on me. Again, thanks to my vampire heritage, I guess.

The vampire's true nature was revealed when his incisors extended into fangs. "This will hurt, but you will not scream," he told me and leaned down again, this time toward my neck.

That's when I struck, the stake I held going through his heart from behind. I outdid it, feeling the point of wood touch my shoulder and hot liquid spill over me. Ignoring it, I twisted the stake in all directions, watching the vampire's jaw drop and the un-life leave his eyes.

The deceased Ian sunk to the ground, decomposing before my very eyes. I almost laughed, remembering how I had freaked out the first time it happened.

Now I idly bent down, wiped the blood from my wooden weapon on his white shirt and shoved it back into my purse. I stripped his rotting corpse and walked out of the lot, not bothering to hide his corpse. Anyone who found it would have trouble identifying it anyway… When vampires die, their bodies decompose - which I assume shows their true age and condition. It seemed like Ian was an old one, because his corpse was almost beyond recognition.

I looked down at my watch. It was still 10 p.m., so I had plenty of time for one more kill. But I wasn't stupid enough to hang by this place any longer than necessary. I walked down the road to where I had parked my beat-up Chevy truck and got in.

I reached for the black trench coat over the passenger's seat and shifted, putting it on to hide my bloodstained white tank top and buttoning it. I usually managed to get the job done without a mark, but I left that coat in my car in case things got messy. With another quick look down at myself in search of another stain - courtesy of Ian - I started the engine and took off.

Now I had to find another vampire hot-spot. I knew from experience that they liked to hang out at nightclubs and bars, probably because the market for blood was larger there. Hunting down these creatures was like my job, something I did every night, and now I took it as my duty. Seattle was a big city though, and these bloodsuckers never seemed to leave. It's as if for every vampire I killed, 3 more popped in its place. But that didn't waver me from my task, it only made me more determined. I knew what vampires had done to my mother, and I'd bring down as many bloodsucking monsters I could, anything to keep someone from suffering at the hands of one like she had.

The Map Quest my sister gave me for my 19th birthday last month proved to be very useful: finding a nearby club was easier than ever. This one I had never been to. I parked my car down the street to the club, which was named 'Bloodlust'. I snorted. Ironically appropriate.

The club was packed and rock music blasted from inside. But just looking at the people in line to get in, I realized the name of the place wasn't a coincidence. Everyone was dressed as vampires: fangs, capes, bloodstained clothes, heavy make-up and all. There were no real vampires out here, however. I knew that because I didn't feel the tingle of inhuman power on my skin, like I always did a vampire was near.

I got in line, deciding there was no harm in it. I mean, these people might think vampires were cool, but they didn't really want to be bitten by one, like many T-shirts suggested.

I eventually got to the end of the line, but when the bouncer looked down at me he shook his shaved head and crossed his arms over his massive chest. "You don't have a costume on. You can't come in without a costume."

But I was not turning back after standing in line for 40 minutes. I had to improvise. "Of course I have a costume on," I reached inside my purse and retrieved my stake, which was conveniently covered in dried blood. "See? This is a stake, I'm a vampire hunter."

People behind me booed, and one person shouted, "Everyone knows stakes don't work! You have to rip them apart and burn the pieces!"

I rolled my eyes, "Look, are you letting me in or not? I don't think there are any rules stating I can't dress like this."

The bouncer unhooked his radio from his black pants and spoke in some weird code, "Fanged Ninja to Poisonous Tiger, call the Master, we have a 901 here."

A short balding man wearing a red cape and plastic fangs too big for his mouth approached us a minute later. "Do we have a problem here, Bruce?"

"Bruce over here won't let me in," I said, more determined than ever to get into this damn club. "And vampire heads will roll if he keeps me waiting for another second." I raised my stake as if to prove a point.

"And who are you?" The short man looked me over, ignoring my stake completely.

"I'm Bella," I pulled my trench coat open, sending the buttons flying in all directions and revealing my bloody white top. "The vampire slayer."

The man's eyes bulged and he looked me over again. I guess my dark skinny jeans, black stiletto-heeled boots and a revealing top gave off a decent vampire-killer vibe, because this time he nodded and Bruce stepped aside, letting me through.

Inside, the club was full of dry-ice smoke. White lights flashed over the dance floor, where all people seemed to be doing was grinding into each other. Everything was red and black, including people's outfits, which seemed to favor leather and lots of bare skin. Overall, this wasn't a club I was used to attending.

At a first glance, the place seemed to be free of undead bloodsuckers, but judging from how many people were here, I probably wouldn't be able to feel a vampire unless it approached me. So I sat down on one of the red couches off the side, where I could scan the crowd at the dance floor.

One specific man caught my eye. He was a white spot in the middle of the red and black chaos. His white T-shirt and faded, worn-out jeans were nothing like the preferred outfit. He was tall, I'd say about 6'2", broad-shouldered, with brown hair in a casual disarray, from what I could see. The white-spot was dancing with three petite women, who were practically groping him. He didn't seem to mind, just looked over people's heads, searching the crowd, much like I was.

His head turned in my direction then, and the lights shown in his eyes. They flashed, like an animal caught in a car's headlights would, reflecting the light. I'd seen that before… in a vampire.

That only lasted a second, the white lights moved away very quickly, and eyes that were so vibrantly green they could've been glowing stared back at me, but it had been enough for my senses.

The vampire started pushing his way out of the dance floor, the women around him whining their protests. He ignored them and stepped free of the crowd. He didn't look at me again, just kept his eyes trained straight ahead. I got up and followed him to the exit of the club.

The cool September air hit my face when a bouncer swung the door open and I stepped outside. I looked around for my target. He was walking down the street, opposite to where I had parked my car. I tugged the flaps of my coat closed, tied the strap around my torso, and started following him, careful to keep some distance between us until we were safely away from Bloodlust.

He was walking south and the wind was blowing the other way, keeping my scent from reaching him. He was surely hearing me, but I knew they were all too arrogant and would never consider a human a threat. Maybe I'd get lucky and strike him while he thought he was making a meal out of me. He turned several corners and I found myself following him on a sidewalk leading past the backs of several warehouses, all of them with large doors for unloading, now padlocked. The other side of the street didn't have a sidewalk, only an endless concrete wall topped with barbed wire and a few scattered street lamps that sent dim light our way.

The light from one of those lamps blinked off as I passed it. I looked over my shoulder to curse at it for darkening my vision further when I realized with shock that another man was walking silently twenty feet behind me. My skin hadn't prickled with awareness of his presence, though, and that meant he wasn't a vampire. I turned my head forward at once and listened intently to the man behind me and the vampire's footsteps, my boot's clanking on the pavement making me feel self-conscious.

The street narrowed and the road came to a halt at a warehouse. Dead end. I saw the vampire turn right and walk straight into the wall. I came closer and realized he hadn't actually walked into the wall, there was a sidewalk in between the buildings. I had two options: let him go and try to find another way around, probably letting him escape, or follow him, blow my cover, and walk into a possible trap. I chose the latter, of course. That's me, always making the smart choices.

I took a deep breath and ran down the alley after him, reaching the other side safely with a relieved sigh. The alley only led to the other side of the buildings, into a street much like the one I was on. I walked down the street looked to the right. Two intersections down, I could see more street lamps, cars, and even some people walking. I gave another sigh of relief and started walking straight ahead.

Only to skid to a stop.

The footsteps behind me had stopped. I looked back. The human man was gone. He hadn't followed me down the alley, but there wasn't anywhere else he could've gone to. I looked forward again. The vampire wasn't there, either. Crap. I couldn't let him escape after going to such lengths. I jogged up the empty street, thinking maybe he had used the man as a distraction to get away to where there were more pedestrians. And then I found him, leaning casually against the eastern wall, watching me with a grin and showing a hint of fang.

I looked back and, sure enough, the man who had been following me was there, standing with his hands on his hips and blocking my exit.

I realized then that I wasn't hunting.

I was being hunted.

I later realized that I should've run like hell then, but my stupid stubbornness got the best of me.

"Hey there, sexy," I purred in my sexy voice, looking at the vampire. "Are you running from me? I just wanted to talk to you."

"Hmm… Is that so, darling?" the vampire replied in a deep voice, that grin still on his face.

"Yes… Wow, your voice is so sexy. Do you work at a radio station?" I slowly walked closer to him, very aware that the human behind me did the same. "That just makes me want you even more."

He laughed and motioned me closer by curling his index finger. "So come get me… Buffy."

The name he called me made me stop in my tracks. "What the hell did you just-"

Before I could finish my sentence, the vampire jumped me. I'm fast, but apparently not fast enough for this one. He managed to get his arms around me and push my hair off my shoulders to expose my neck.

"Ah… I'm disappointed. I thought you'd put up a better fight," he purred, nuzzling my throat with his nose.

"Wh-what?" I shivered, very aware of the danger I was in.

"I watched you kiss and kill that other guy before me. You won't get to do the latter, but do I get a kiss, too?" he continued.

Oh shit oh shit oh shit. He saw me. He knew I'd been out to kill him, and now he had me trapped. "I d-don't know what you're t-talking about," I tried, hating myself for stuttering.

"I think you do…" he breathed directly in my ear, repeating my earlier words at the club, "…_Bella the vampire slayer._"

He had me. There was no talking myself out of this one. So instead of doing that, I tried to slip my hand in my purse to where my stake was… "Ah, ah, ah," the vampire cooed, wrapping an unusually warm hand around my wrist and stopping my advancing hand. "No toys allowed."

I looked at him - _really_ looked at him - for the first time. This close, the green eyes that had caught my attention back at the club were even more piercing, and his hair was almost bronzish in color. He was handsome. _Very_ handsome. Mind you, if he weren't a disgusting bloodsucker, I would probably drool at having him so close to me. But he was a disgusting bloodsucker, and having his skin on mine made me sick. "What do you want?" I growled, finally dropping my act.

"I want to know why you're killing vampires. Who do you work for?" he asked, his hot breath still on me.

"No one," I told him, trying to come up with an escape plan. The odds weren't in my favor.

"Come on, tell me… Why do you kill vampires?" he purred.

"Because you creatures shouldn't exist," I replied immediately.

"Bella, darling," he started, sounding like he was talking to a stupid child. "We've been watching you for a while now, and there's no way that you are doing all this on your own."

"Well, I _am_ doing it on my own," I bit back. "I'm not a child, I can handle myself just fine."

"You see, you're too quick, know too much, for a human teenager," he replied.

"Okay, first of all, I am not a teenager. I'm 19. An adult. Second, I'm not human. And third, fuck off! It's none of your damn business, so I don't have to stay and put up with your shit," I said, struggling against his hold.

"Not human?" he inquired, ignoring me completely, "Do you claim to have superpowers? Is Buffy actually Wonder Woman?"

Oh God, he was so annoying! I never wanted to kill something as much as I wanted to kill him at that moment. "I'm half vampire," I growled.

"And I sparkle in the sunlight," he laughed. "Yeah, _right_. You know, I like you, Buffy. I really didn't want to do this the hard way."

"Go to hell," I snapped. I wanted to do something like spit on him, but he was too close, and doing so would probably not be a good idea.

"Jakeeee," the vampire called, letting me go so suddenly I stumbled back. "She's all yours!"

I heard steps behind me, where the human man who'd been following me had been, and immediately spun around. My mind told me it wasn't a good idea to turn my back on a vampire, but instinct made me face the approaching tall figure.

He was just as tall as - if not taller than - the vampire, but had tanned skin instead of the paleness that came with vampirism, and both his eyes and spiky hair were jet black. _The dark to the vampire's light,_ I thought idly.

"Who do you work for?" he asked when he was right in front of me.

"No one," I replied. My head snapped sideways as he slapped me with incredible force for a human.

"Who's your boss? Who are you killing vampires for?" he tried again.

"I don't work for anybody!" I shouted, half-hoping someone would hear and save me, half-hoping I didn't unnecessarily risk innocent lives.

The human raised his hand - to slap me again, I think - but the vampire raised his own to stop him. "Bella, we know you're lying," the vampire murmured, gently running his fingers down my cheek before I shook his hand away. "Your boss feeds you his blood. I can smell it in you. Don't suffer over him, Bella. Tell us who he is…"

"This whole good cop/bad cop role-play isn't doing you any good," I said between clenched teeth, disgusted at being touched by the bloodsucker. "You smell vampire in me because I'm half vampire."

"Liar," the human stated.

"It's the fucking truth!" I yelled, frustrated.

"Liar," the black-haired man repeated, slapping me once again.

Feeling more helpless and defeated than ever, I fought the urge to fall to my weak knees. "Just kill me already," I sighed.

"Not before you give us some answers," the human said. Oh great, so they _were_ going to kill me after all. What did I expect?

"Why would I say anything if I'm just going to die in the end anyways?" I attempted at a confident smirk, but I'm pretty sure I failed.

"If you tell us what we want to know like a good girl, I'll do it myself," the vampire promised. "If you refuse to give us the truth, I'll let Jake over here take care of you. And I promise you'll like it better if it's me…"

I shuddered, my shoulders slumping. "What do you want to know? Other than who my so-called boss is, that is."

"That's my Buffy. How long have you been going at this?" the vampire asked.

"Since my mother was killed. That was 4 years ago," I told them.

"Why?" he pressed.

"Because it was a vampire that murdered her. They told me it was a car accident, but I know better," I said.

"How many have you killed?" the other man asked. I turned my hateful gaze at him, idly wondering why the hell would a human help a monster, but answered anyway.

"I hunt every night, but I'm not always lucky. Average of 3 a week. So do the math."

"Three a week for 4 years?" the vampire repeated in disbelief, then started laughing. "You're really wiping us from the area, aren't you? I'm impressed."

"How can you tell who the vampires are?" the human asked.

"Yeah, I wondered that, too," the vampire added. "It's not like we leave our fangs popping out or something."

"I'm not sure why or how, but I get this shiver, feel a weighted difference in the air whenever one of you beasts are close," I told them. "Is that all?"

"So eager to die by my hands, are we?" the vampire teased. "Yeah, that's all. Thank you for your help." And in a second, he was right _there_, pushing my hair away from my shoulders and re-exposing my neck. He was fast. Faster than any vampire I had ever had the displeasure of meeting.

I closed my eyes. There was nothing I could do now. I was going to die. _God, please let this be quick, please make it as painless as possible, please let there be somewhere nicer wherever I'm… _My eyes shot open when I felt the twin needles of the vampire's fangs pierce the sensitive skin of my neck. It was a horrible, _horrible_ feeling. It didn't even hurt, but just the feeling of being invaded, being drained, made me want to rip my attacker to pieces.

"Edward!" I heard a male voice shout somewhere in the distance.

_"What in the bloody hell..?" _another voice, much closer this time, said. "Are those… fangs?"

My darkened vision slowly cleared up, and I gazed back at both men, who were staring at me like I had grown another head. My mind was too fuzzy to form any coherent explanations as to why I was still alive.

"You're telling the truth," the vampire spoke first. "You have a pulse, but you just grew fangs! And your blood… It's not… human. Not entirely."

"The fangs show up sometimes when I'm upset," I explained dazedly. "I told you I was part vampire. You didn't believe me."

"We didn't, did we?" the vampire started pacing animatedly, like a psycho would. "This is perfect, actually!" he spun to face me again quickly, the soft glow of the street lights casting a low light on his features and making him appear to be ghostly beautiful. In between my foggy mind and his semi-crazed expression, he looked like a fallen angel.

"Can't you just end it already?" I sighed. "I told you all you wanted to know."

"No, hear me out, alright?" the vampire said, still looking too happy and excited than appropriate. "What do you think about working with us, darling? You see, Jake and I hunt vampires, too, only we do it for the money. We came after you for it - you have a huge price on your head, mind you - but you turned out to be something even better than money!"

"What's this nonsense you're spouting, Edward?" the black-haired human asked, looking at the vampire incredulously. "You can't be serious about this."

"Come on, think about it, Jake! She's the perfect wolf in a lamb's clothing!" the vampire enthused, spreading his arms widely in front of him and laughing. "This is so bloody perfect!"

"…You'll let me live if I help you kill vampires?" I asked. "I thought you were killing me for that."

"No, no, I was killing you for the money. I couldn't care less about your killing off random vampires. Although that _is_ kind of immoral." I snorted, and he continued, "Anyhow, we'd only go after vampires who have prices on their heads, not random, sexually frustrated men at bars."

"I'll do it," the words flew out of my mouth before I could give it better thought. I was tired, overwhelmed, and more than a little scared by this all, and the faster I could get away from these men, the better.

"Perfect!" the vampire cheered.

"I can't believe this," the human muttered darkly.

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><p><strong>AN: Reviews/criticism would be greatly appreciated! :)**


	2. Of Association and Intimidation

**A/N: Sorry for the delay! This was meant to be posted a week or so ago, but I got caught up in writing future scenes of Perfect Stranger. lol.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and this isn't a crossover between the two. The only Buffy in this is a less delicate Bella.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

_**Of Association and Intimidation**_

Instead of letting me go free after my agreement - not that I expected them to, anyway - my attackers had me follow them out of the alley and back to the main street.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked warily, eager to get away from the vampire and his creepy human partner.

"Just shut up and you'll find out soon enough," the black-haired creep in question hissed back.

"Jake, don't be mean. She's with us now," the vampire told the human in a light scolding tone. "We're taking you to our headquarters, as I like to call it."

"What about my car?" I muttered. "I left it at the bar."

"Jacob will get it for you." The human looked like he was going to protest, but when the vampire raised an eyebrow at him with a smirk, he turned around and headed somewhere else.

"So, Bella, aren't you going to ask me my name?" the vampire asked conversationally.

"I already know it," I replied, but then mentally scolded myself for not ignoring him.

"Is that so?" he said. I ignored him and kept walking. "Well, what is it?" I held my silence. "Come on, Bella, I want to hear you say my name!"

"Ugh! It's Edward, okay?" I finally gave up and said it, extremely annoyed.

"Hah, you really did know it," he mused, sounding a little surprised. "How so?"

"I heard that human calling you that back there," I told him, if only to shut him up.

"Human..?" he repeated, sounding confused for a moment before he started laughing hysterically. I idly wondered if the vampire was completely sane. It would prove troublesome if I was forced to hang out with a leech who wasn't good in the head. "You can't possibly mean Jacob, can you?"

"Er, yes. I know he's not a vampire," I said.

"Oh, he's no vampire, but no human either," he replied.

"So what is he, a robot?" I snorted.

"He's a werewolf. That would be cool, though. Maybe in a few decades… We're here. Get in the car," the vampire said, stopping in front of a shiny silver volvo. I considered starting to scream and making a run for it, but that would probably only get me killed. Or worse, get innocent bystanders killed - not that there were many innocent people around at that time of night. Well, I could always make my escape later. It wasn't as if they were going to kill me now… right? "Don't over think it, darling, just get in. We don't have much time," the vampire had opened the passenger door for me.

I got in, and he closed the door for me before going around the car and getting in himself. I almost didn't ask, but my curiosity got the best of me. "We don't have much time before what?"

"Before sunrise," he said, starting the car and driving off. The dashboard read 3:56 a.m. Why, wasn't that careless of him? I allowed myself to relax against the comfortable seat of the expensive car, wanting the sun to appear already and burn my captor to a crisp. After he was gone, I could just go back to my usually routine. And if the human came after me, I would have no problem besting him in a fight. It's not like I believed he was a werewolf - everyone knew there was no such thing.

"That's an awfully happy grin you're wearing there, Buffy," the vampire commented. "I hope you didn't misunderstand."

"Misunderstand what?" I was so happy I would indulge the leech in his final hour.

His green eyes met my brown ones and he shook his head with a grin. "Never mind."

"So, tell me, leech…" I started conversationally. He was going to die anyways, and I was kind of curious. "Why do you hunt your own species?"

"For money, of course," he replied. "And it also helps fend off boredom."

"But don't you feel bad? Isn't it like killing your… brothers or some shit like that?" I asked. It was a stupid question, but he answered it anyways.

"My _brothers_?" he laughed. "Hardly, darling. Do you consider all humans your brothers, even mass murderers and corrupt politicians? I hope you don't, cause if you do, you're in for a harsh awakening."

"I don't," I rolled my eyes. "Forget it, it's not like you vampires have feelings. Of course you couldn't care less about killing."

"You wound me, Buffy," he mocked.

"Bite me," I snapped back, then thought better of it. "And that is not an offering."

He laughed, a different sound from his previous mocking/hysterical/crazy bastard ones. It transformed his face into something I just realized was very beautiful - and that's because I could only see part of it. I looked away immediately.

It was almost 5 by the time the vampire slowed down the car. We were far from the city, and the roads had been unpaved for a few miles now. When he finally stopped the car completely, we were in the middle of nowhere… or so I thought, until I looked out his window.

"What's this?" I asked, squinting to get a better look at the small building without leaning any closer to the vampire beside me.

"Home sweet home," he announced, then leaned towards me, his breath directly on my left ear. "Now come on, Buffy, or else we'll miss it."

I yelped in disgust and made to push him away, but he was already outside, shutting the car door behind him. "Sodding leech," I cursed, and got out of the car. "What are you doing?"

The vampire was laying down on the front yard of the apparently abandoned building, his arms folded behind his head and one leg casually draped over the other. "Why, watching the sun rise, of course. Won't you come join me?"

I dragged my feet over to where he sat down on the grass, sinking down beside him, but leaving a good 5 feet between us. I shifted on the ground to face the vampire, resting my weight on my bent arm and leaning the side of my head on my hand. "Why'd you want to see the sunrise?"

"'Cause I wanna put an end to my meager existence," he dramatically replied. I frowned. The leech really was insane. Thank God I wouldn't have to be with him for much longer.

We must've been laying down for about 15 minutes when the sky brightened. It wasn't a pretty sunrise - the tall trees blocked most of it -, but it sped up my heart rate all the same. The vampire beside me started yelling and thrashing on the ground. A small laugh escaped me and I rolled further away from him, not wanting to get caught up in the flames.

Only he didn't burst in flames like I'd expected, and after a few moments, he stopped thrashing and looked at me with a grin. "Gotcha," he said.

"You were faking it?" I asked, disbelieving. But sure enough, the sun was high in the sky and the vampire remained unburnt and unharmed. He started rolling on the floor laughing - quite literally. I snapped my purse open, grabbed my stake from inside it, and jumped him. "Die, motherfucker!" I yelled.

Between his rolling and my angry attack, we ended up rolling on the floor together, with me attempting to stab his heart out and him easily escaping my blows. Our struggle stopped when we heard a loud engine stop on the street in front of us. We froze with him under me and me straddling his waist, only _he_ held the wooden stake, not me.

"Jake!" the vampire called, "Can't you come back later? Buffy and I were quite enjoying ourselves here, as you can see!"

I made to punch him in the face, but the damn leech grabbed my closed fist almost immediately after I moved. "Don't be so violent, darling. It's not becoming of a lady."

Cursing him and his smartass mouth, I jerked up to my feet, holding back from kicking his side. I wouldn't be able to, and it'd only serve to embarrass me further. It was so me to be caught up with the fastest vampire around. "Why are you still alive?" I growled.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Buff, but we vamps don't fry in the sun. That's just a myth invented by humans to make them feel like they have the upper hand against us," he chuckled.

"Humans don't believe in vampires," I told him.

"Nowadays they don't, but where'd you think the folktale came from? While I wasn't alive in the 15th century, I once met a guy who knew ole Drac back in the day. Bloody sadist, said he was," the vampire said casually.

"You're telling my Dracula's real?" I asked in disbelief.

"Very. But, contrary to popular belief, he wasn't a vampire, just a crazy human who liked his dinner with a live impalement."

"So why'd you tell me about him if he was just a human?"

"Maybe I wanted to show you that humans are just as bloodthirsty as us."

"Yeah, right," I laughed scornfully. "So, if sunlight doesn't do the trick, why is it that I've never seen a vampire during the day, then?"

"Weeeeell…" he started. "Sunlight doesn't burn vampires, but it makes us drowsy. It's kind of like trying to stay awake at after a 12-hour marathon of Lost in Space - young people can't do it, but older folks who know it can hold out for a bit longer."

"What's Lost in Space?_**[1]**_" I asked uselessly.

He shook his head, "How uncultured of you, darling."

I narrowed my eyes, then said, "Well, if you're still awake, does that mean you're an old vampire?"

"Depends on what you see as old."

"How old are you?" I asked, a little curious despite myself.

"Didn't your mama teach you that it's rude to ask people their ages?" he mocked.

"Don't speak of her," I snapped.

"That's enough already," came a voice from behind us. I almost jumped, having forgotten the human - or werewolf, as the leech had put it - was there. It was weird not sensing my enemy, and I didn't like it one bit.

"Oh, don't be jealous, Jake!" the vampire stood up in one fluid movement. "But you're right, we should be getting inside now. Tomorrow will be a busy day, and we all need our beauty sleep."

I cautiously followed both men into the low building. It wasn't anything special, just a plain 6-storied apartment complex with chipped walls and blotched wall paint, but fairly clean and well-maintained - for an old abandoned building, that is. "How come you have this to yourselves?" I asked, following them down a hall.

"Everyone who lived here hurried and packed their bags when there was a rat infestation," the vampire told me with a sly grin. "Only there were no rats."

"How-?" The leech's eyes met mine and his pupils dilated over his green irises… and I understood it. He had made families believe that their homes were infested just so he could have a building all for himself. "Monster."

We went up an elevator to the 5th floor. At first I was hesitant to ride up a god-knows-how-old elevator that received no maintenance, but then I thought that if it crashed, at least I'd take the dark-haired man with me to death, even if the vampire could probably survive it.

"This is Jake's floor," the leech in question announced, just as the werehuman (I still wasn't sure what I should think of him as) stepped off. The tall man stopped the metal doors from closing by pressing a hand against the left one.

"Don't even _think_ of escaping," he spoke to me, deep voice low and threatening. I couldn't help the chill that went down my spine. "Or I _will_ catch you, and I _will_ kill you." Then his dark eyes raised to the vampire. "And then not even he will be able to stop me." His hand pulled back and the elevator doors closed.

The mechanical noise of the rising elevator was the only sound heard as it rose to the top floor. It was embarrassing to admit, but that man had scared me. A lot. My stomach felt empty and I wanted to throw up. It was ridiculous, I know, to fear a human. Sure, he was a big man with biceps of guys who spent half their lives at the gym, but I was half-vampire, and no human - no matter how strong and intimidating - was a match for that. There was the possibility that the vampire hadn't been lying and he really was a werewolf of course, but that seemed so fantastical. There's no such thing as werewolves, right? Sure, that's what people thought about vampires, too, and I knew first-handedly how wrong that was, but still… Anyhow, werewolf or not, I decided that I would steer clear of the dark-haired man, even if that meant sticking close to the disgusting vampire.

I was broken out of my reverie by the leech in question's voice. "This is our floor, and that's my flat." he said, then motioned to one of the two doors in the entrance hall. He opened the door and stepped inside, with me on his heel. "Hmm, wanna sleep with me, do you? Unfortunately for you, Buffy, I'm too tired for _that_ right now, so you'll just have to settle for that flat over there," he said, pointing to the door next to his. Then he took my purse from me. "Oh, and I'll have that."

"Oh. _Oh_. I thought… Urgh, you're so annoying! I hope you choke in your drool and die!" I snapped, not even bothered by having my stake taken away from me. It's not like I'd risk doing anything today, anyways.

He laughed as I opened the adjacent door, then, in a sobered up voice said, "And Jacob's threat stands. Don't make this hard and try something as foolish as trying to escape, hm? Sweet dreams." And with that, he close the door and left me standing there.

Cursing myself for getting into this mess, I went in the apartment. It wasn't big, just a small living area with a half wall to a kitchenette and a hall leading to a bathroom and a bedroom, but I found myself thinking it was kind of… cozy. And then I remembered that the nice furniture was probably courtesy of the family that'd been thrown out of their home and I felt bad about liking it.

Despite everything, I was tired, and I really could use a good rest. Sighing, I made my way into the bedroom, lifting and ruffling the sheets to air them out a little before laying down. Whether due to the comfortable mattress, soft pillow, or plain mental exhaustion, it wasn't long till I fell asleep.

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><p><strong>AN: This was supposed to continue further, but I felt like this was a good point to end the chapter at.**

_**[1]**_**: So, does anyone know Lost in Space? It was an american sci-fi TV show aired in the 60s. My family bought every season box and made me watch it with them, but we all ended up falling asleep somewhere in the middle of it! lol. I'm not sure what it was - the continuous soundtrack, the sound effects, the laughingly bad special effects, or just the simple fact that it was in black and white - but none of us would last long watching it, no matter what time of the day it was. In fact, we never quite reached the end of it…**

**Anyway… I kind of tried to amplify the character personalities from the original BELLATVS in this version. What do you think? Please take a moment to review, no matter how short it is! I really loved your reviews last time :)**


	3. Of Training and Improving

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing! I really appreciate it!**

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Twilight, but who said something as simple as that will stop me? Mwahahahaha~**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

_**Of Training and Improving**_

"Wake up."

I buried my face in my pillow, cursing the light I felt shining through my closed eyes.

"Wake. Up."

"Five more minutes, Alice," I mumbled.

"Wake up!"

Now I could tell it wasn't my sister, unless she'd gotten a sex change while I was away hunting. But she liked dating men too much to do that…

"I don't have all fucking day. Wake the fuck up!"

I jumped up from the bed, effectively falling facedown on the floor. My face was inches away from two black sneakers and dark jeans. I looked up, and up, and up… to see a very buff dark-haired man with black eyes glaring down at me. Jacob-the-supposed-werewolf didn't look very happy.

"How long are you going to lie there for?" he growled.

I stood up, wiped myself off, and, trying to protect what remained of my pride, crossed my arms over my chest. "What do you want?"

"The parasite wants me to train you," the grump replied, sounding very much disgusted at the idea.

"Train me?" I repeated. "For what?"

"Vampire hunting, idiot. What else?" he rolled his eyes, looking impatient.

"I don't need to be _trained_. I've handled myself very well up to now, thank you very much," I told him. I hated to be patronized.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you? Do you know how easy it was to corner you in the alley yesterday? You're slow, and only armed for close combat, which is really stupid when dealing with vampires. Not to mention that your skills with that piece of wood you call a stake are mediocre at best. Sometimes not even the element of surprise is enough. That might've been enough to catch horny drunken teenagers at bars, but it won't help you any when you're with us. Edward knows that, and that's why he's having me train you to bring out the vampire in you. Now shut your mouth and come so you can actually be of some use to us."

Jacob-of-the-ever-present-scowl had just given me a speech. I thought I'd better do as he said. And training to get stronger couldn't be all bad, could it? But first…

"Um, I have to make a call first. If I don't let my sister know I'll be staying here, she'll get worried," I said.

He narrowed his eyes, and just when I thought he'd deny me of even that, he snorted, "Fine. Go. But don't take too long."

I was about to look around for my purse when I remembered that the vampire had taken it away from me the night before. "The vampire has my phone," I said.

"Well, go get it then," he snapped, not offering any sympathy. "I'll be downstairs. Don't make me wait."

He left the room, and I only made a move out of my apartment when I heard the elevator doors shutting. I went to the door next to mine and knocked thrice. When I didn't get a reply, I went right in.

The blinds were shut, making the room dark to even my vampire vision. I had to switch on the lights to see around properly. The flat was almost identical to mine, save for the more modern furniture. I made my way to the bedroom, and, switching on the lights, found the vampire sprawled idly on the bed.

He wore only a pair of black loose pants, and the sheets, which were tangled around his legs, blocked nothing from my view. His bare chest and abs were sculptured to perfection, and his bronze hair looked darker in the low light casted by the light.

I forced my eyes away from him and looked around for my purse. I found it on top of the bedside table. I went to it and opened the zipper, being as quiet about it as I could. Inside, I found my cellphone, and next to it… my stake. I glanced to the side, at the oblivious snoring vampire.

I reached inside and, instead of taking what I'd gone in for, I wrapped my fingers tightly around the stake. If I was quick about it, I'd be able to do it. It was daytime, and the vampire seemed dead to the world - pun intended - so I doubt he'd be able to stop me before I could kill him.

I took a deep breath...

...And pulled out my cellphone instead.

Who was I kidding? I was scared shitless of getting killed by these men, and I was way too much of a coward to try anything stupid. Besides, even if I _did_ manage to kill the vampire, his partner would surely kill me without a moment's hesitation. Hell, the brute was probably itching for an excuse to do it anyways.

"Good choice," a low voice said from beside me.

"Gah!" I yelped, jumping away from the bed where the shirtless vampire sat, grinning lazily at me.

"I thought I'd have to use force to stop you from using that, but it seems like you're a smart one," he yawned, laying back on the bed. "So… What made you change your mind?"

"I came in to get my phone, that's all," I said, defensive.

"Uh-huh…" he yawned again.

"It's true!"

"Alright, alright… Did Jake come to get you yet?"

"Yeah."

"I have to warn you, he can get a bit rough sometimes, but it'll be worth it in the end…"

"…Okay."

"Oh, and if you're hungry, get him to make you breakfast. He can cook."

"…Okay."

"So are you going to stay and enjoy the view some more or go make your call already?"

I scoffed, insulted, and snapped, "I should've killed you while I had the chance!" I slammed the door of his apartment to the sound of his laughter.

Alice picked up her phone on the 4th ring. "Bella! Where are you? Why didn't you call?"

"I'm calling now, aren't I? Sorry to have worried you. I kind of got caught up in things here and couldn't make it home," I said, happy to hear my older sister's worried voice.

"How many of those beasts did you kill?" she asked. I was used to being asked that question, and since adding a few vampire heads to my true kill count put Alice in higher spirits, that's what I did.

"Um, many," I lied. "So many I lost count. In fact, I decided to go off on a little hunting trip this week. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, as long as you're killing as many as those beasts as you can," Alice replied. "Well, I'm late to work, so I have to get to the hospital now. Have fun for the both of us!"

My sister hung up and I dropped off my phone in my room before heading down to meet my trainer.

* * *

><p>I hadn't known how wrong I was when I'd said that training couldn't be all bad. It could.<p>

At least, Jacob's way of training could. He made me do the most ridiculous, merciless tasks he'd come up with in his sadistic mind. In my 19 years, I'd endured more than your fair share of pain and suffering, but I'd never been through such brutal, agonizing, I-wish-he'd-just-killed-me experiences.

_"I'm getting closer… Closer… Closer!… I can almost grab your hair now… Run faster, you idiot!"_ he'd shout as he chased me through the neighboring forest at speeds my truck could never even hope of achieving. Whenever he'd get too close, he'd yank back at my hair and send me flying backwards, only to turn right back and start the chase all over again.

_"Edward's grandma has better aim than this," _he'd say matter-of-factly as he easily dodged the knives I threw at him. I didn't have any practice at hitting targets from afar, let alone moving opponents, so it's a bit of an understatement to say I wasn't a pro at it. Jacob would only criticize my lack of skill while I practiced until my knuckles bled.

_"Do you have _any_ body strength whatsoever?" _he'd snort as I climbed up hills and inclinations with thick branches and even tree trunks tied to my back. When I teasingly offered to carry _him_ up the hills instead, he tied a particularly pointy stone to my back.

_"You're too weak. Useless,"_ he'd sigh as he made me lift stone boulders repeatedly, gradually increasing their weight and size. This time, I didn't offer to try to lift him off the ground instead. I was a quick learner.

_"You have the flexibility of a brick," _he'd say as he stretched my limbs until tears ran down my face. If it's true that girl tears made any man waver, it didn't happen with this guy. Maybe he really was a werewolf after all.

_"Who said anything about taking a break?" _he'd growl down at me, holding an empty bucket while I laid on the muddy forest ground, covered in icy water and rising from unconsciousness after passing out of pain and exhaustion.

After one week of that, I sat down on the forest ground and refused to go any farther. _"If I'd known that this is what joining you and that leech meant by joining you, I'd have chosen death," _I said.

_"Oh really?" _Jacob towered over me, arching an eyebrow and clenching his fists. _"Prove it." _Seeing he really was serious about it, I stood up and hurried to get on with whatever task I was presented with.

To say I fantasized about torturing and killing him every second of the day everyday was an understatement if I'd ever heard one. Yet I got better. With the dark-haired man, it was either improve or die. Or worse, improve or be tortured some more.

And right now is another sign that I really _was_ improving. Jacob and I practiced hand-in-hand combat and I didn't pass out. I got beaten up quite badly, but I was conscious through the entire thing, something that hadn't happened before. Not without a few broken bones, though.

"Tsk," Jacob crossed his arms over his chest, watching as I wheezed helplessly, trying to get oxygen into my overworked lungs. My left arm hurt like a bitch after he'd twisted it behind my back, and I was pretty sure I had more than one broken rib from a particularly forceful punch he'd delivered.

Instead of doing something to help me, Jacob only turned and walked out of the forest towards our building, leaving me on the ground panting like a dying coyote. Yeah, he wasn't a very kind person.

With nothing better to do until I got used to the pain enough to get up, I laid back on the ground and stared up at the darkening afternoon sky. The moon was visible behind a cloud and the cool wind that blew the tree leaves made a soothing rustling sound. I wasn't particularly fanatic about nature, but it was a welcome escape from the busy sounds of the city.

"Don't look so dejected, Buffy," a familiar voice brought me out of my reverie. I opened my eyes and saw the vampire's head blocking my view of the moon. "You look like you're waiting for death," he commented, grinning down at me.

I remained silent, save for my involuntary wheezing.

"I told Jacob not to overdo it," he shook his head, crouching down next to me. "Come hear, I'll make it better."

"Don't… touch…" I panted, wincing as he pulled me onto his lap. Struggling hurt too much, so I stopped and allowed myself to be pulled closer.

"Just let me take care of you, darling," he cooed, putting his index finger in his mouth. I watched as he scrapped it on his extended fang, breaking the skin and drawing blood, only to press it to my lips with an insinuating smirk. "Suck."

"You… disgusting…" But he took advantage of my open mouth to shove his finger inside. When I felt the taste of blood, I couldn't bring myself to protest anymore. Warmth spread over me, and I grabbed his hand to keep him from withdrawing it. I bit and sucked at his finger, loving the delicious metallic taste that went down my throat. Pain gave way to tingling, and then nothing at all, just an incredible warmth. It was addicting.

I forced myself to stop drinking and looked up and the vampire who held me. "How can you live off something like blood?" I spoke with his index finger still in my mouth.

"It's not like I have another choice, right?" he said, and I felt him shrug against my back. "But I bet it tastes good, you being half-vampire and all."

"No, it doesn't," I lied. And then I realized that I was sitting on a vampire's lap with his finger stuck in my mouth. It was an awfully intimate position to be in with your sworn enemy. I jumped up, and hated that I was blushing.

"Now that's something we'll have to work on," he said. "You blush too much. That's not like the aggressive woman we're expecting you to be. Your virgin prudery is going to get you killed."

"I'm not a virgin!" I replied automatically, then, as predicted, felt myself blush.

"Well, well, well," he teased, grinning. "With the way you act, I'm surprised. He must be something, to get you all hot and bothered─"

"_Shut up!_ Not that that's any of your business, but I've only been with one person. He dumped me right after it, so it didn't mean anything," I said, and regretted it immediately. Why had I told him all that? I was panting at having the old wound ripped open by him. Fuming, I turned around and started to walk out of the woods, towards the building. Where was Jacob anyway? His sour self was preferable to this stupid leech.

"Bella," I was too angry and hurt to be shocked when the vampire called me by my name. "Sorry." That stopped me dead in my tracks. Was the vampire really _apologizing? _"But just because some ridiculous teenager pulled a one-night stand, doesn't mean─" he continued before I cut him off.

"Stop." I didn't turn to face him. "I'll work for you, train, fight, dress up, whatever. But we aren't getting into my private life, here."

I walked out of the trees and into the deserted apartment building they - we - lived in, passing by Jacob on my way. For once, he didn't complain about my abandoning training.

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><p><strong>AN: Don't forget to leave a review! Even flames are welcome, although I've never gotten one here on FF. Be it any kind of comment - bring it on!**


	4. Of Interrogations and Revelations

**Sorry for the slow postings! I'm doing my best.**

_**Disclaimer:**_** I don't own Twilight. If I did, this would be on your bookshelf, not on here.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

_**Of Interrogations and Revelations**_

I woke up sometime later, with someone shaking my shoulder. "What do you want?" I croaked.

"We're going out. I just got a call," the vampire said, pulling me up from the couch in my living room.

"Our first bounty kill?" I asked, yawning and stretching my stiff limbs.

"Not really a kill. We just have to question someone about some missing people. There seems to be a vampire serial killer on the loose," he said.

"Hmph," I snorted. "All vampires are serial killers."

"Tsk, so narrow-minded, Buffy. It's unbecoming of a lady," he smirked.

"Shut up. Who are we going to question? What should I wear?" I asked, walking to my bedroom to the suitcase filled with clothes I'd gotten from my captors.

"You're not going to Prom, princess. Anything is fine," the vampire said. I glared at him.

"I'm just asking 'cause you said I'd have to dress sexy, that's all!" I grumbled.

"Don't bother," he said, stepping on the top of the suitcase so I couldn't open it, "You don't need to dress up to talk to this guy.

I looked down at the red wool sweater and black spandex shorts I had slept in. "Am I supposed to just go like this?"

I knew it had been a mistake to call attention to my attire as soon as he looked down at it, a grin spreading across his face. "You sleep in that?" he laughed.

Blushing furiously, I grabbed my shorts - which suddenly felt _too_ short - and pulled it down as far as it would go. "Shut up. It's not like you bought me any pajamas."

That made him laugh more. "Just grab some shoes and let's go. We're late already, and Jake should come in soon to y─"

"_What is taking you so long?_" came the black-haired man's yelling voice from the hallway.

"What did I say?" the vampire laughed. I snatched a pair of converse shoes and walked out the door after him.

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><p>"Here we are," the vampire announced from the passenger's seat as Jacob stopped the car.<p>

"Where is this?" I asked, looking out the window to the old house we were parked in front of.

"You're going out to question the guy that lives there," he replied.

"Me? Aren't you coming?" I asked.

"No," he said.

"Why not?" I frowned.

"This guy isn't really fond of us vamps, and he'd recognize Jake," he answered.

"He knows about vampires? How?" I asked incredulously. The only humans who believed in vampires were the victims, and they didn't live long enough to tell the tale. Then again, there's Jacob and I. But I'm not completely human, am I?

"He's a werewolf," the vampire said simply. "They don't get along with vampires much."

"There you go again with this werewolf crap. There's no such thing," I replied.

"As much as I wish you were right, there is. And you're meeting another one now," he said.

"Another one? Ha, you can't mean you were serious about him being one, too?" I asked, jerking my head towards Jacob.

"He is," the vampire said.

"You're lying," I said.

"Why would we, stupid?" Jacob growled.

I frowned. He had a point. "But if that's true, how come you're friends with a vampire?" I asked.

"I'm not," Jacob said. I arched an eyebrow. "Edward is not my friend."

"I'm not?" the vampire asked, feigning hurt. "And here I considered you my best friend!"

"Tsk," the supposed-werewolf rolled his eyes.

I turned to face the vampire again. "But you said werewolves don't like vampires. I'm part vamp, remember?" I said.

"He might smell it on you, but he's just going to think you've hung out with one, like we did when we met," he said.

"What am I supposed to ask him?" I sighed, deciding I had to risk it for the sake of the vampire hunt.

"Ask about any people who have died of unnatural causes or gone missing around this area lately."

"How can he know all of this?" I asked, looking out the window at the house again. Between the steadily falling rain and the blinking yellow light casted by a nearby street lamp, it was a gloomy sight. Kind of creepy, too.

"Paul's the local Alpha. He knows everything that happens," Jacob said.

"Alpha?" I asked.

"Leader of his werewolf pack, which is pretty much every were in Seattle," the dark-haired man said.

"Are you in his group?" I asked.

"No." He didn't sound like he was going to elaborate, so I just gave up on it. Not like I cared anyway.

I was getting out of the car and into the rainy night when I turned back and looked at the dashboard of the car. "It's 11 p.m. Is this really okay?"

"Whatever. Go ahead and knock on the door, woman," he urged.

"What if he turns into a wolf and bites my head off for waking him up to ask about missing people?"

The vampire threw his head back and laughed. Over the sound of his loud cackles, Jacob said, "Weres only turn in the night of the full moon."

"Oh." Glaring at the stupid leech who was still laughing, I got out of the car and slammed the door shut behind me.

Muttering curses under my breath, I ran to the house's porch and away from the rain. I was extra careful to use only human speed, just in case. Wiping away at my wet sweater, I glared back at the car, where the vampire was sure to be observing. Turning back towards the front door, I gathered up courage to face a vampire-hating mystical creature. After a moment of deep breaths, I knocked on the door.

Nothing.

I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't the silence that followed. I knocked a few more times.

And then the door suddenly swung open and my raised hand dropped to my side and my eyes widened like a rat's at the sight of a snake.

"Isabella?"

Paul stood in front of me, shirtless and with baggy denim shorts.

Paul, the cheating bastard who swore he loved me and dumped me right after taking my virginity.

I wanted to cry and punch him in the face at the same time, but that would probably compromise my mission here. I _really_ didn't feel like getting a mouthful from the guys that waited in the car behind me afterwards, either.

I don't know how I did it, but I took a deep breath and suppressed the urge to shove his face in. Instead, I nodded in acknowledgment and, in a controlled voice, said, "May I come in? I have a few questions about recent murders for you."

Paul only stepped aside so I could go inside. I hurried through the threshold and away from him. "What are you talking about?" he asked, running a hand through his black hair.

I gulped and looked down at my feet, trying to keep my emotions in check. "I'm looking for info on unusual murders and I heard you could help."

"I'm not a cop," he replied. I couldn't see it, but I felt his gaze piercing me. "Isabella? Don't you remember me?"

_How could I not?_ I wanted to scream at him. But again, I controlled myself and just stared back at him.

"We dated back in high school. What was it, 3 years ago? I was your first─" he stared before I cut him off.

"I know who you are, Paul! Now can you just answer the damn question!" I shouted at him.

"Why should I? What are you offering in return?" Shit. I should've known it wouldn't be so easy.

"What is it that you want? Money? I don't have any on me right now," I said.

"I don't want your money," he said, walking to the living room and sitting down on a musty beige couch. I remained standing.

"What do you want?" I asked, afraid of where this might lead to.

"For you to stay for a while so we can talk and have a drink," he said.

Knowing I had no other choice - I wouldn't dare going back into that car empty-handed - I sighed in defeat. "Fine."

Smirking, he stood up and walked around the couch to an end table and picked up 2 glasses. "So again, what makes you think I know all of this?"

I swallowed hard and locked my gaze with his. "I know what you are. And as the Alpha, you know this."

Paul didn't look surprised. Pulling out a bottle from a cabinet across the room, he poured us drinks. "Since when do you know this?"

"I'm the one interrogating here." It took every ounce of control I had not to burst in angry tears. Why did this have to be _Paul?_ Coincidences like these don't happen! Fate was just too cruel. "Tell me about recent unusual murders or disappearances around."

He came back holding out a glass of what looked like vodka. As I took it, he said, "You want names?"

I nodded as I took a sip of the drink. The burning in my throat felt good, so I gulped it down in a few seconds, not realizing how thirsty I'd been. "Names and cause of death."

"Claire Jenson. Attacked by an animal and bled to death a week ago," he said, sitting back down on the couch. This time I sat on the one across from it.

I didn't bother writing it down; my memory was flawless. "Go on."

"Norah Dickens. Strangled 2 days ago." He slid his glass to me over the coffee table and I drank it down greedily.

"Who else?" I was getting impatient. Did he have to say one name at a time?

"Hmm…" He stood up and brought the Vodka bottle to the living room table. "Peter Crawford. Slashed to bits a week ago. No blood."

"What do you mean, no blood?" I had a fairly good idea of what could do that.

"His body was found, but it wasn't soaked in blood. It was drained. Bloodsuckers, probably."

Of course they'd suspect that. I could only imagine how much this would increase the rivalry between both kinds.

"Which brings us back to you," he continued. "Why do you want to know all of this?"

I reached for the bottle of clear liquid and curled my fingers around it. "That's none of your business."

He raised an eyebrow and his lips curved in amusement. "Ahhh… That so?"

"We have a deal," I pressed. "I'm still here, talking, drinking, whatever. Give me more names."

Paul took the bottle from me and took a swig. "Jeremy Finch. Bled to death 10 days ago…"

God, these murders were sounding more and more like vampire activity. I took the bottle back and took a long swing to calm my nerves. It was unusual for vampires to be so obvious in their hunting. Something wasn't right.

About half an hour later, I had heard about 20 murders, emptied the Vodka bottle, and was feeling kind of woozy. "I have all I need," I announced.

He stood up after I did and walked around the table to stand in my way.

"Get out of my way, Paul. I'm leaving." I pushed past him, not caring if it gave away my extra strength.

"Whoa, whoa…" he took my arm and turned me to face him. "Am I going to see you again, Isabella?"

How the hell could he think that, after what he'd done? "No way. And don't touch me." I jerked away from his hold. He shrugged and walked me to the door. When I turned to open it, he moved behind me, using his body to press me flush against it. I knew I could throw him off even in my semi-drunken state, but I didn't want to piss off the Alpha werewolf unless it was absolutely necessary. "Get. Off," I growled.

"You look good, Isa. It makes me proud to be the first to have this nice tight body…" he murmured in my ear and pressed harder against me. Before I could react, I felt a hand squeezing my breast and another sliding up my inner thigh.

"_Fuck_ you!" This time I did push him off, and swung the door open. "_You pig!_" I spat over my shoulder at him. "_Die!_"

The car wasn't parked where it had been. But before I had time to panic about it, I saw it at the end of the street. Not even caring about the cold rain that soaked my clothes, I ran down the street towards it. As I got closer, I saw the door at the passenger's seat swing open and a figure step out into the rain. It was the vampire.

I jabbed a finger at his chest, not giving a shit about the consequences. "I'm never doing this again!"

My attitude seemed to amuse him, not piss him off, though. "What happened?" he asked.

"You men are all the same perverted, manipulative bastards!" I swayed to the left and he steadied me by grabbing my upper arms.

"Did he do something to you?" the vampire asked, still holding me upright.

_Paul is my ex-boyfriend! _I wanted to say. But deciding against it, I said, "That werewolf t-touched me! He felt me u-up!" I was surprised when my voice broke into hiccups.

"He did _what_?"

"I already t-told you! H-he t-touched…"

"I'm going back there to teach that filthy mutt some manners," the vampire growled menacingly, every sign of amusement fading.

"Forget it." I had to lean into him for support. I think the alcohol was taking its toll on even my vampire metabolism. "You were right. Those people had to be killed by leeches."

"Tsk," he ran a hand through his soaked hair, clenching his jaw shut and looking down at me with an unreadable expression. The moonlight made his ivory skin look even smoother, and his wet hair looked black, contrasting nicely.

My swaying increased, and I couldn't stifle my giddy giggle. "You're so pretty, Fanger. Edward Prettyhands. Prettyface. Prettybody."

He leaned back against the car and started laughing. It was pretty. "Let's get back in the car. All this rain is getting into your brain."

I giggled again. He was funny. "I like the rain," I leaned closer.

Edward leaned down and sniffed my mouth. "Did you drink? Are you _drunk?_" The thought seemed to amuse him to no end.

"I don't get drunk so easily…" I pressed my nose against his wet shirt to feel more of his intoxicating smell. Not to mention his hard pectorals.

"What are you doing?" He couldn't pull back - he was already pressed against the car.

A thought crossed my mind and I asked it out loud. "Do you think _I'm_ pretty?"

He shook his head, sending water droplets down at me. "No. I think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

It was my turn to shake my head. "You're lying. He wouldn't have left me if I was."

"Who?" he asked, confused. But I ignored him. I was having an epiphany.

"Why didn't he tell me he was a werewolf?" I mused. "Wasn't I worthy of at least an explanation beforehand?"

"Bella, what are you rambling about?" Edward shook me. "What werewolf?"

"Maybe deep inside he knew I was a vampire. Knew I was an evil leech. I wish I hadn't been born this way," I let my head hang down and stared at my now heavy sweater. "I wish I hadn't been born at all."

"Listen, Bella, not a single part of you is evil, and screw anyone who tells you otherwise. What you are doesn't mean shit. You hear?" He shook me some more, and I smiled. He was nice.

"I really am drunk, aren't I?" I grinned up at him.

He snorted and bent to pick me up. "I'd say so." And then the ground was tilting, he was tilting, everything was tilting.

"What are you doing?" I asked. "Don't you dare bite me, or else─"

Edward laughed. "I'm not going to bite you, I'm getting you in the car, darling. Since you seem to be fond of the rain, I thought it'd be easier if I helped you get in."

I slumped against the car seat as he put me in. All I wanted to do was go to sleep. To my surprise, instead of closing the door and getting into the passenger seat, he climbed into the backseat next to me.

"Go," he told Jacob, who wordlessly started the car. Then he pulled my head down to his lap.

"What are you doing?" I jerked up and away from him.

"You're tired, aren't you? Just trying to help here…"

I flicked my gaze from his lap to the hard seat and dropped my head down onto his lap after a while. "No funny business."

"You're the one whose mind's in the gutter," he chuckled. "I'm just being a gentleman."

"Ughm, shut it…"

* * *

><p>I must've fallen asleep, because before I knew it, Edward was shaking me.<p>

"We there yet?" I mumbled, my eyes still closed. Damn, his thigh was as comfortable as any pillow.

"Yep. My lap that cozy? Sorry to inform you, but you'll have to forsake it now," he grinned.

I lifted my head from his lap immediately and scoffed. "It's not _cozy_. Hell, I couldn't even fall asleep!"

He laughed and said, "Oh, so you snore when you're awake, too?"

I had a moment of stunned shock before it dawned on me. "I don't snore!" I accused.

He smirked at me and jerked his chin towards the car door. "Off you go."

I looked out the window then back at him. "We're at my house?" I asked, shocked.

He nodded. "You're payment for tonight. We'll pick you up when we need you again."

I shot out of the car then turned around. "This isn't a trick, is it?"

"For heaven's sake, just go already! I'm not your personal chauffeur!" Jacob yelled from the driver's seat. I jumped, almost having forgotten he was there. "Now leave before we change our mind!"

"What about the names of the people who were killed by vampires? Don't you need those?" I asked.

"Write them down on a piece of paper and leave it on your bedroom window," he said. "Jake or I will come for it later."

I ran up the porch steps quickly, shivering when the cold rain hit me again. I had to get out of these clothes, or even I might get a cold or something. It hadn't happened before, but the way things had been lately…

"Hey, Buffy!" someone called me from the car. I looked back at Edward, who had his window down. "Don't forget your pajamas!"

With that, their car drove off, and bent over to grab the spare keys from under the doormat.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thank you for the reviews :] They're so lovely!**


	5. Of Dutifulness and Fearlessness

**I'll try to post this quicker, since most of it is ready, but that means I'm giving it a higher priority over the other stories. **

_**Disclaimer:**_** You and I both know Twilight is not mine, so why make me say it in so many words? D:**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

_**Of Dutifulness and Fearlessness**_

Once inside my house again, I ran straight to my sister's room and jumped on her bed. That woke her up, and when she finally opened her eyes, her initial reaction was to glare. "…the hell…" After getting a good look at me, she rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Bella? Is that you?"

I bent down and hugged her as much as I could, happy to have at least some normality back into my life. "Hey Allie!"

"What's with the enthusiasm?" I heard her mutter. "Hi, uh, what are you doing here? Do you have any idea how late it is?" she complained.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" I tried to feign disappointment, but my grin must've given me away. If she could even see it, that is.

"Yeah, sure," she yawned and rolled over to the side. "Why are you back from your leech-hunting trip so early?"

"I got pretty much all of them where I went," I lied, hating having to do it to the only family I had left, but knowing I had to. But I had to admit a part of me relished at the prospect of being congratulated by Alice…

Sure enough, that got her to turn to face me again, and with a wide smile, she said, "Good job, Bells!" And that in itself was a reminder of why I had to lie, why I couldn't tell her that I had partnered up with what killed our mother. And a werewolf. Maybe. Not sure she'd approve of one, either.

"Yeah," I said, reminded of how I'd probably have to leave again soon. "I'm planning another trip."

"You're doing the right thing," she said, rolling to the side again. "Now go, I'm tried. Good night."

I nodded and slipped off the bed, replying, "Night, sis." When I heard her breathing steady with sleep again, I went to my room, shutting the door behind me. I had a note to write to a vampire.

* * *

><p>When I woke up a couple of hours later, the first thing I did was to hurry to the window to check if Edward had been there and taken the list of names I'd written. The piece of notebook paper wasn't under the window when I'd left it, so I figured he must've, but I was kind of disappointed when I saw no trace of his or presence. For some reason, I'd expected there to be some kind of thing that told me he'd been there. Maybe it was Jacob who'd come for it, after all.<p>

Alice was already having breakfast when I got downstairs. She looked up at me from a bowl of cereal and smiled, "Good morning."

"'Morning," I smiled back and took a seat beside her. She seemed to be in a good mood. "Why are you all dressed up so early?" I asked.

"I'm taking morning classes," she replied with a proud grin.

Absentmindedly, I picked at the table cloth and said, "Still thinking about becoming a nurse?"

"Yeah." I looked up when I heard her set her spoon down. "And I wanted to talk to you about that."

Oh no, I knew that tone. She was about to step into the role of my caretaker, which was really just an excuse to boss me around. Not that she needed one, mind. "Talk about what?"

"Your future. You know, Bells, as much as I love having you around, we'll have to part ways eventually. I'm worried about that," she said.

"Allie, you don't have to worry. I can live on my own just fine, I'm not live most peo─"

"Exactly. You're not like everyone else. You can't forget you have a monster inside of you, Bella," she cut me off.

I closed my eyes and swallowed the lump that suddenly rose in my throat. "I know."

She reached for my hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Finish college, make friends, maybe move out. It'll be good for you."

"Yeah. Okay," I decided, ready to agree to anything to make my big sister happy with me. After all, the last thing I wanted to be was a burden.

* * *

><p>Later that day, just as it was starting to get dark outside, I found myself standing by the front door, waiting on Edward and Jacob. They said they'd call me, but did they have my number? Hell, did the vampire even have a <em>phone? <em>Just as the thoughts came to me, I wanted to smack myself for caring. Wouldn't it be better if they didn't come for me again? Wasn't that what I'd hoped for, that they'd leave me alone?

I sat on the living room couch and sighed. What was there to do? I'd already called and reenrolled in my old community college, so that was off. Alice was still out, and judging from her usual schedule, wouldn't be back by dinner time. With nothing else to do, I walked to the kitchen and prepared myself a bowl of microwave popcorn. When it was finished, I took my food back to the couch with me and turned on the TV. Choosing some random war movie, I settled back and tried to enjoy myself.

I don't know what woke me up - hell, I hadn't even noticed I'd fallen asleep! - but the next thing I knew, Edward was by my side on the couch.

"Gah!" I yelped, startled, jerking back from his closeness. "How'd you get in?" I asked, scooting away on the couch.

"You forget I'm a vampire. There's nothing I can't do," he grinned and popped a popcorn into his mouth.

"Why are you eating?" I asked, reaching for some myself. "You're dead."

"I can eat if I want to. Even this cold, burnt stuff," he shrugged.

"Oh." Yet another vampire fact I wasn't aware of. "So, why are you here? Did you get my note?"

"Yep. Sneaking into your room and watched you in your sleep too," he joked. "I got a job for us tonight."

"Not another interrogation, is it?" I asked worriedly. I didn't want to see Paul again. Didn't want him to ask me to do it.

"No more of that. Jake and I paid the recently-deceaseds' families a visit. No one knows what happened," he said.

They did that already? When? Did the vampire come out during the day? "So what is there left to do?"

"I found us a little pet," he said, pointing to he staircase. I followed the move and gasped in surprise.

Jacob stood by the end of the railing, looking as stoic as ever as he held a thrashing young girl - of about 15, I'd say - who glared at us with a hatred that seemed horribly wrong on her cute face. The tingle on the back of my neck told me she was a vampire, though. The youngest I'd ever seen.

"Buffy, Bree. Bree, Buffy," Edward introduced. "Bree took part in the killings. She knows what happened."

"You killed those people?" I asked the girl, horrified. Would a sweet-looking girl like that be capable of doing that to all those people?

"We were hungry," she hissed, her voice dripping with malice. "Not like we had that many options available, right?"

That made me stop for a second and consider something for the first time. Extremely stupid of me, really. Did Edward kill people to survive, too? He never mentioned anything. But then again, why would he? Vampires drink human blood, and that was an absolute given. What else would he live off of? Mountain lion blood? I didn't know why I even cared. Vampires are all the same bloodsucking monsters. It repulsed me. _He_ repulsed me. Spending so much time with this vampire was making me forget how truly evil they were. And it was dangerous to forget.

Edward stood up and motioned for me to do the same. "Get ready. Bree's taking us to her leader."

* * *

><p>Turns out her leader liked to party. Not that I was particularly surprised - clubs seemed like most vampires' first choice restaurant. Who needs all-you-can-eat buffets when you can have free dinner throwing itself at you in the dance floor?<p>

The car ride was mostly spent in silence, with Edward restraining Bree in the backseat, me on the passenger seat, and Jacob driving, as usual. When we got to the club Bree had said was her boss's favorite, the vampire surprised me by saying I wouldn't be accompanying them into the club.

"You're kidding, right?" I protested. "No way I'm staying!"

"You have to," he replied. "The less people know you, the better it is for us."

"So why'd you drag me along?" I asked, annoyed. "Why not leave me home?"

"We're partners," Edward poked my shoulder with a grin. "We do everything together."

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't contain a smile. "So do you want me to keep an eye on the girl?"

Vampire Bree snarled when Edward turned in his seat on the back to face her. "Frisky," he muttered, then looked at me again. "We have to take her so she can point out her boss."

"What if I don't?" she barked. I felt kind of sorry for her; Edward or Jacob would probably kill her right then and there for refusing like that.

"You'll wish you'd never been born," Jacob spoke in a monotone from the driver's seat. It was the scariest threat I'd ever heard in my life.

"You heard him," Edward said sweetly. "Now come." She caught the hint and didn't move as he got out of the car and pulled her along.

"Wait," I said. "She's obviously a minor. How're you getting her in?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Jacob replied, opening his door. "Edward will just compel the bouncer."

"Ah. Of course," I muttered. "Ah, so I'll just stay here!" I called uselessly as they disappeared from sight.

And for the second time that day I was stuck with nothing to do. Figuring I might as well do as I wished, I opened the glove compartment of the car to search through the vampire's stuff. To my surprise, it was empty, except for a couple of dollar bills and the note I'd written with the names of the people killed by vampires. Just as I was about to shut it back up, I finally found something interesting. My stake - the one I had tried to kill them with - in a side compartment. Smiling at my awesome sleuthing skills, I shoved it down my knee-high boot and away from view, glad to have it back.

And that's when I heard it. A scream. It came form somewhere down the street from the club, and my vampire hearing was probably the only reason why I'd heard it over the booming music.

I got out of the car and stood outside, using my enhanced hearing to try to catch something else, and my night vision to make out my surroundings. A place called _Joe's Diner_ sat about halfway down the street, and even from this distance, it was obvious it was closed. I was almost sure the scream had come from there.

I slowly made my way towards it. The closer I got, the more my stomach turned and I became sure something very wrong was going on in there. I stopped in a shadowed area across from _Joe's_ and studied the building. All lights were off and no windows were broken.

It's like everything was perfectly fine. Except it wasn't. A feeling of _wrongness_ emanated from the building. Death. A vampire was inside.

I couldn't afford to lose time by going into the club after Edward and Jacob. I didn't know if there were people inside the building, and if they were dying as I stood there doing nothing. I had to go in by myself. Although I knew that, it didn't stop me from being afraid. The only time I'd killed vampires, I had the advantages of being in a crowded place, looking harmless, the element of surprise, and male hormones on my side. And if I had to admit it, the vampires I caught were relatively harmless until they decided to drop the gentleman act. This time, I was walking into a dark place with no idea what I'd be encountering, or how many vampires there might be. I was scared to death. Really, who wouldn't be? But that didn't stop me before and it wouldn't stop me now.

"I'm getting those guys a cellphone ASAP," I cursed under my breath as I crossed the street.

I didn't bother being silent of keeping to the shadows. The vampire(s) inside would know I was coming - they'd hear the rapid beat of my heart approaching.

I remembered the stake I had tucked into my boot as I reached the sidewalk on the other side. At least I wasn't completely defenseless.

When I reached my destination, I stepped on the front door and kicked it. It shook, but didn't fling open like I expected. Damn. I tried again, stronger this time, and it flew back. I stepped in and ducked immediately as the air to my right screamed a warning. A figure flew over me and landed with a loud crash.

I caught movement with my eye and saw another one running at me. I dodged and swung a fist, hooting its jaw with a crack. The blood-crazy one was coming toward me again. I grabbed the second one's slick hair and yanked it in the other one's path.

The saner one twisted from my grip in its hair and hit me across the face, knocking me down to the floor. The crazy one - who, I noticed with horror, had its face smeared with blood - sunk down on top of me, pinning me to the floor. It leaned close to me and tried to latch its teeth onto my neck.

"No way, you bastard!" I yelled and forced an arm between us, slashing my wrist on his fangs in the process. White-hot pain sliced through my body and I screamed.

The other vampire laughed, causing the pain to blur into anger. Strength surged into me and I pushed the disgusting one off. Flipping our positions, I quickly reached into my boot and drove my stake deep into the insane one's chest, twisting it for all I was worth.

Just as I was pulling out my stake from the rapidly-decaying flesh, the other one flew through the air, diving straight at me. I scrambled upright and got out of its path, suddenly glad for Jacob's intense training. It was probably saving my life right now. The vampire landed headfirst, but quickly turned and lunged at me again. I faked a blow to its head and drove the stake into his back as hard as I could.

It stopped abruptly and stared down in surprise and the stake now pointing out from his chest, just barely missing his heart. I used the moment to swing my leg and trip it, making it fall on its back and drive the stake deeper still. With almost all of the stake poking out from his front, I pulled it out, ignoring the wet, squishy sound it made. Stepping on his abdomen to keep him down, I drove the stake into his heart. He crippled and wrinkled to its true age as soon as the stake ripped its heart. It was an older one - about 90, I'd say.

For a moment I just stood there, taking deep breaths. Then I spun on my heel and walked towards the shallow breathing I heard coming from across the room.

A guy that looked to be 1 or 2 years older than me lay against the wall, clutching a girl with red hair against his chest. He had slashes all over his body, but they weren't very deep. His leg was also twisted at an odd angle. His dirty blonde hair was sticky from blood, and he had tears in his brown eyes. He'd wrapped a tourniquet around his thigh, but even in the dim light I could see how pale he was and that he's lost a whole lot of blood. I wondered why the vampires hadn't sucked him up.

I kneeled down beside him and took him in. Aside from his bloodied and messy state, he was very handsome. "What's your name?" I asked, as gently as I could, not wanting to make him more scared than he already was.

"Riley." His gaze finally met mine, and he looked like he was in shock. "They came in just before I closed the place. I didn't see them before it was too late."

"Yeah, I know, they're fast like that." I tore my eyes away from his and looked down at the girl. Her waitress uniform was torn open in all places, leaving nothing to imagination. From the looks of it, they'd bled her dry.

"Victoria. Is she okay? Jesus, what they did to her─" he stared shaking again, and I placed my hand over his. His skin was clammy.

I glanced down at the dead Victoria and saw echoes of terror in her lifeless eyes. "It's not your fault."

"What are you?" he asked abruptly, pulling his hand away. "I saw how you fought. Are you a vampire?"

"No, I'm─"

"Fangs!" he gasped, looking at my parted lips. Shit. They'd made their appearance again. Couldn't say I was surprised, though.

"It's complicated," I sighed, figuring I owed him the truth. "I'm half vampire."

"Impossible," he breathed, leaning closer again and giving me a once over.

"Must be a shock to know bloodsuckers are real, huh?" I said, trying to lighten the mood as much as I could. Poor guy. At least he didn't look so scared anymore.

He nodded, but his mind seemed to be elsewhere. "I had my suspicions."

I rose to my feet, knowing I'd need help to fix the mess I'd made. "I'm calling my partners to clean this up."

"Are they vampires?" The fear was clear in his words. Poor guy, indeed. He'd probably have nightmares for the rest of his life.

"One of them is, but he's nice enough," I said, not realizing that I'd meant it until it was out. Stupid, stupid Bella.

"No. I can't." He jumped to his feet. "I'm not going anywhere near another vampire."

"I understand," I nodded, disappointed for some reason. "You're safe now. Go home."

He was almost out the door when he turned and asked, "Will I see you again?"

"Do you want to?" I asked, surprised since he knew I was technically a vampire, too.

"You saved my life," he said it like it explained everything. "Meet me here tomorrow at 8."

Riley spun on his heels and ran the hell out of there before I could utter a response.

* * *

><p>"Ah. I see." Edward stood in the doorway with his hands on his hips. Jacob stood beside him, eyeing the the scene of destruction inside the diner. It felt like they were cops analyzing a crime scene, and that made me uncomfortable since it meant I was the murderer.<p>

"I'm sorry," I said. "Did I blow your cover or something?"

"Yes, you─"

"No," Edward cut Jacob off. "We got a nice look at our vampire before he ran off."

"He ran off? Why?" I asked. Not very brave of a vampire who's supposedly creating a bunch of vampires and setting them loose in the city. A "newborn army," Edward had said.

"Who knows?" the vampire shrugged. "He got a call and left the club with his bodyguards."

"Hmm…" I kneeled down next to the body of the dead redhead and looked up at them. "What are we going to do with her? Is it okay to leave her like this?"

"We have to get rid of her," Jacob said. I flinched.

"He's right," Edward agreed. "We don't want the police or other vampires tracing anything back to you."

"But she's human," I protested. "We can't just throw her body away like trash!"

"Nobody said anything about throwing it away," Jacob spoke in a monotone. "We'll bury her. I'll see what I can find round the back." The dark-haired man trudged deeper into the diner, leaving Edward and I alone with the corpses.

Now that the adrenaline from the fight had left me, I was made aware of the sharp pain in my wrist where one of the vampires had cut me. I had wrapped a tourniquet around it to prevent too bloodloss, but it was still bleeding quite a bit. Not to mention it hurt like a bitch.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Edward sitting down on his heels beside me, and felt him reach for my wrist. Ohshitohshitohshit. He was a vampire. My wrist was bleeding. He could obviously smell it. My stake was still buried in the rotten vampire's corpse.

"Please don't," I flinched. If he attacked me now, I didn't stand a chance. He wasn't as weak as the vampires I killed.

"Let me see it," he ignored me pleads and pried my fingers off my wrist. I tensed as he looked down at the bloody cloth around my wrist. Oh God, please don't let him bite me. "That's one nasty wound," he commented, looking back at me. "How did it happen?"

"One of the leeches managed to bite me before I threw him off. I guess I only made things worse," I said, eyeing him warily. He didn't let my wrist go.

Instead, he brought his free hand to his mouth and sliced his wrist on his extended fangs. Dark red blood spilled from the wound, and he extended it to me. "Drink," the vampire ordered.

"I'm fine." Tension, pain, and fear made my voice sharper than I'd intended it to be. "I can heal on my own."

He gave me an irritated look and moved closer, forcing my head forward and shoving his wrist against my mouth. Our heads were only inches apart and our knees were pressed together. I tried to move back but he let go of my wrist to hold my head in place.

"You'll be fine in a moment," he said, voice hard. If he hadn't been pissed off before, he was now. It was weird, seeing him angry. He always sounded like he didn't have a care in the world.

So I drank the blood I was offered. My wrist tingled and was completely mended when he dropped his arm, but didn't move back or let go of my head.

"You know I hate it when you give me your blood," I said. I actually had to stop myself from spitting it out now. Not that it tasted bad; quite the opposite really. It was delicious, and I hated myself for thinking it.

"Why, because vampires are all evil bastards who deserve to die?" His voice was like acid. I'd never heard anything like it coming from him. "Humans can be just as bad, you know."

I stood up and crossed my arms over my chest. He did not just go there. "Oh, come on, don't give me that crap."

"No, don't _you_ give me that crap," he said back, standing up, too. "Not all vampires are evil, Buffy. How long will it take for you to realize that? It was endearing at first, but now you just sound like an ignorant fool."

"_Ha_, please! Are you telling me you've never murdered someone innocent? Never drank someone dry? It's what you do to stay _alive_, for heaven's sake! You kill! Hell, the only reason you didn't kill _me _was because you saw my damn fangs!"

He snorted. "You thought I was going to hurt you when I was just trying to heal you, right?"

I had to look down at that. He'd caught me. There was nothing I could say to counter that. I'd judged him prematurely, but it's not like I didn't have a reason to!

"I was _never_ harsh with you," he said, "Never gave you any reason to act the way you do around me. As a matter of fact, I tell Jacob not to be too rough with you during training, and when you're hurt, I heal you. And before I knew what you were, I wasn't going to kill you. I threatened you so you'd say who you worked for, that's all."

I looked back up at him. _Huh? _He wasn't going to kill me that night? But I thought… No, of course he was lying. There's no way he'd…

"I'd make you forget everything and let you go with an order never to go out killing vampires again. And from what I remember, you were trying your best to kill me that night, too, following me around like that. What, so you're allowed to kill me and not the other way around? Hardly seems fair, don't you agree?"

By then I was gaping at him, open-mouthed and everything. Okay, he kind of had a point. But still… He was… He was…

"You're dismissed. Go home." Edward walked away from me, in the direction Jacob had gone off to. "Jake, what's taking you so long?"

I dumbly stood in place in place for a moment before I left _Joe's Diner _and walked to the main street. I hailed a cab and went home, deeply troubled the whole way.

* * *

><p>I was sprawled on the couch in my pajamas, staring absently at the ceiling when Alice got home. "Bella?" she called.<p>

I turned my head towards her and smiled. I didn't really feel like talking. I was tired. I should probably head upstairs to my room, but I lacked the energy and willpower to do even that.

"Everything alright, Bells?" she asked, sitting next to me. "You're back early. Kill how many demons tonight?"

"Two," I told her, glancing down at my healed wrist. "But a girl was killed."

"Oh no," she sighed, shaking her head sadly. "See, that's why you have to kill as many bloodsuckers as you can."

"Yeah," I gulped, trying not to think about the argument I'd had with Edward.

"C'mon, want to watch a movie together? Maybe that'll lift your spirits," she smiled.

"Sounds great," I said truthfully, perking up immediately. I never spent time with Alice, and when I did, I was really happy.

"I'll let you choose," she said, walking upstairs after me. "But only this time. And no horror movies."

"Trust me," I said, "That's the last thing I want to watch right now."

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><p><strong>AN: For FF purposes, characters that were named differently in the YouTube version will be renamed to their Twilight personas in this. i.e. Xavier=Riley, Jackson=Jasper.**


	6. IMPORTANT NOTICE

**Hi everyone. Sorry for the false alarm, but this is just an A/N.**

**As of June 4th, 2012, FF put up a notice against M rated fics, and although this might be just a bit of stretched truth, word is that they are removing all M rated fics and terminating accounts with stories depicting sex or violence. For that reason, I'm lowering the rating of my fics back to T, as the last thing I want to have is my account shut down and to lose all the lovely reviews you have sent me.**

**Please join the cause by writing FF an email at _support (a t) fanfiction . com_ and ask them to bring back the M/MA rating so that authors can be free from censure and have the freedom to write what they want to.**

**In the meantime, possible suggestions/themes/violence/language in all my fics will be toned down to a T rating. For the more explicit version of Bella the Vampire Slayer, you can check my YouTube account.**

**Thank you for your attention, and please take a moment to send FF an email and spread the word.**

**mandy.**


	7. Of Dating and Clubbing

_**Disclaimer:**_** I own nothing. There you have it.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

_**Of Dating and Clubbing**_

I left for my meeting with Riley, the man I'd saved, early. I had bought Edward and Jacob cheap cellphones and had been waiting for sundown to give it to them. In the end, I just couldn't wait that long.

I drove my truck to the abandoned building and climbed up the stairs to Edward's apartment. The vampire was always telling me to just take the elevator, but I was still wary of the old piece of machinery.

I knocked on the door twice but he didn't open it. Damn it, it wasn't dark yet, so he was probably sleeping in some coffin now. Or maybe he was still mad about our argument the day before. I hoped not.

I opened the door - which he never locked - and left the little packages on the coffee table. He could give Jacob his later, because I most definitively wasn't going into _his_ room.

Just as I was heading out the door again, curiosity got the best of me and I turned back and walked to his bedroom. The door was wide open. What I saw inside was completely unexpected.

Edward wasn't sleeping in a coffin. Hell, the _was_ no coffin in the room. The vampire was sleeping in a double bed in the middle of the room. Instead of laying his head down against his pillow, he was half-leaning against the headboard, like he'd suddenly fallen asleep while sitting up and had slid down awkwardly. That position would probably give him one hell of a backache when he woke up. If vampires even got backaches.

_Maybe I should lay him down properly, _I mused. After all, I couldn't have my bodyguard in our missions with an aching back, right? What if it made him slower to help me out when we were killing leeches?

Repeating that over and over in my head, I tiptoed across the room and carefully slid a hand under his back, trying to support his weight, and pulled the pillow down with the other.

His shirt had bunched up high up on high back and the skin-on-skin contact sent tingles through my body. I also couldn't help but feeling the rippled muscles that lined his back and shoulders…

"Feeling me up in my sleep, darling?" he spoke suddenly, his eyes still closed, making me fall back on my ass. "If you wanted to do that, you could just ask!"

"I-I-I…" I stuttered, having no idea in hell of what to say. "You almost gave me a heart attack!" I finally settled on.

He laughed and sat up on the bed. "Why, I'm sorry. You surprised me too by coming here and teasing me like this."

"It's just that you were…" I motioned to his position on the bed. "…All… You know…" How did I put it in words? All uncomfortable-looking?

"Sexy-looking?" he suggested, waggling his eyebrows. "Like I said, if that's the case, don't feel like you have to wait 'til I'm asleep."

My jaw dropped at his bluntness. "That's not what I was doing! Ugh! Just forget I was ever here, okay?"

"Like that's going to happen," he said. "So tell me, why are you here then, if not to harass me? Not that I mind it, though. I actually lik─"

"For fuck's sake, Edward, quit it," I cut him off. "I'm here because I bought you guys cellphones."

He raised his eyebrows with a smile. "And what makes you think we don't have them already?"

"Well, do you?" I crossed my arms over my chest. They'd better not. Cheap or not, I spent my money on those things.

He was silent, and for a moment I was sure he was going to say they did. But then he smiled and said, "No. Thanks, Buffy. Did you dress up for me tonight or are you going somewhere?"

"I'm meeting someone," I admitted. "It's a guy I saved from those vampires yesterday."

"Ah." Edward slid back down on the bed with a grunt of acknowledgment. "Well, get going then."

"It's at eight," I told him. "I was just going to kill time here for a bit." Okay, I didn't plan on it before, but now I figured I had nothing better to do. Besides, it would be so lame if Riley got there early and found I was already waiting for him.

"Hate to disappoint you, but I'm not in the mood to play right now. You woke me up, remember? Go find Jacob."

"Pfft, as if," I said, sitting down on the bed when he scooted back to give me space. "Is he sleeping now, too?"

"Actually, he told me he'd go out today," he said.

"To do what?"

"Who knows?" Edward said, then asked, "So how come I didn't see this guy you met yesterday?"

"He was scared of meeting a vampire," I said, then turned to glare at him when he started laughing. "And I don't blame him."

"What's his name?"

"Riley."

"What does he look like?"

"Why do you care?" I asked. For heaven's sake, was he going to do a background check on the guy or something?

"'Cause I'm going to do a background check on the guy," he said, still laughing.

"You've gotta be kidding me," I said.

Edward sobered up and gave me an unfathomable look. "Listen, I don't want to put our job at risk here."

"Our job?" I laughed. "God, Edward, now you're overreacting. I'm just going to meet him up for dinner. It's not like I'm going to marry him. Hell, it's not even a date!"

"Maybe," he half-shrugged. "But what can I say, I'm a ruthless daddy when it comes to you."

"Daddy? That sounds perverted!" I laughed. "But alright, I'll tell you if that'll stop your nagging…"

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><p>In the end, I arrived at the restaurant I'd meet Riley at at 7 instead of 8. Ridiculously early for a date, I know, but I spotted Riley's blonde head through the window inside the restaurant already. I stood outside, across the street from it, for a little while when his head turned and he caught sight of me. I saw him stand up from the table where he sat at and disappear from view.<p>

A moment later, he was pushing the door open. "Hey!" Riley came out of the place and waved at me.

"Hi," I smiled and waved back. We shared an awkward hug before he pulled me towards the restaurant, holding the door open for me.

"Thanks," I said, stepping in.

"So why were you standing outside? Having second thoughts?" he asked, a hint of worry in his voice, walking right in and sitting down at a table at the window.

"No, no, that's not it," I assured him, sitting down across from him. "It's just that it's early. Why are you here anyways?"

"I own the place," he shrugged. "Live upstairs, too."

"No way. Seriously?" He nodded. "Why's it called Joe's Diner then?"

"Way more catchy than Riley's Diner, don't you think?" he smiled.

"Good point," I laughed.

Riley waved at a waitress who brought two menus over. Waving it away, he ordered two cokes, two cheeseburgers, and some french fries. I would've preferred something else, and his presumptuousness kind of surprised me, but I let it go.

"So, Isabella, tell me about yourself."

"Well, that depends on…" I trailed off as what he said sunk in. "Wait a second… How did you know my name?"

His eyes widened and he looked confused. "You told me, remember?"

I shook my head with conviction. "No. I didn't tell you."

"Isabella," he leaned forward and took my hand gently. "You did tell me. But I'll pretend you didn't if it makes you feel better."

I looked down at our hands, once again surprised at his boldness. He was so different from the scared guy from the night before. But I guess witnessing someone's supernatural murder does that to people. "I'm sorry, Riley. I'm just ind of paranoid. A lot's going on lately, is all. Call me Bella, please."

Despite my words, I still couldn't recall ever mentioning my name, and my memory was pretty reliable, too. Had he stayed back and heard my conversation with Edward after I'd assumed he'd left? He did say he lived here, after all. Maybe he was embarrassed to admit to it and just said I'd told him. Still, it struck me as odd that he'd call me Isabella instead of simply Bella, since I rarely used my real name. He probably just assumed that was my name from my nickname.

He smiled and squeezed my hand reassuringly. "Your hand is warm. I expected it to be cold, like a vampire's."

"Oh, vampire's aren't cold. Unless they're not feeding enough, that is," I told him, proud to be teaching someone something about them for a change.

"How'd you know?," he asked. "They're dead, they're supposed to be cold."

"Not really dead. _Un_dead," I corrected with a grin.

"And do you know so much because you're kind of a vamp, too?"

"Actually, my vampire partner opened my eyes as to how ignorant of them I was."

"Vampire partner..? You mean that vampire friend you told me about yesterday?" he asked. "He helps you… kill _them_?"

"We're working on a missing persons' case now. Vampires are involved," I said.

"Really?" his eyes widened again. "What's the name of this vampire that's helping you? Are you sure you can trust him?"

I nodded. "I hate to admit it, but I trust Edward. He and his friend kill vampires for a living, so they can't be all bad, right?"

"So they're like… hit men?" I nodded. "Whoa… I think I'd like to meet them… If they don't bite me, that is."

I laughed. "I can't give you any guarantees, Riley. Jacob is quite scary, if you ask me. Don't think meeting them would be very smart."

"Hmm… Never mind then," he laughed.

The waitress arrived with our drinks then, and our food arrived a while later. It was nice, if a bit greasy.

"So tell me, Riley, why did you say you suspected vampires existed yesterday?" I asked.

"Well, I kind of had a vampire as a cook here once. Seriously!" he said when I started laughing.

"What, did you put up a _help wanted, preferably immortal_ sign?" I was still laughing.

"Hell no," he said. "I hired this creepy dude one day… And now that I think about it, he did cook extraordinarily fast…" he trailed off in thought.

"So what tipped you off as to what he was?" I prompted.

"I saw the guy slash his finger with a knife and he didn't even flinch. And then his skin mended, just like that," he said.

"But then vampire immediately came to mind?"

"Not really. But I watched him carefully everyday when he came to work. I knew what he was when I saw his fangs."

I raised my eyebrows. "You saw his fangs and didn't freak out? Most people would." And I knew that from experience.

"I'm not like most people," he smiled.

"I see."

After we finished our food, a look at my watch told me it still to early to call it a day. Or a night, whatever. But I didn't know what to say to prolong the night, so my last hope was...

"Want to get out of here?" he asked, probably reading my expression. "Go somewhere else?"

"Sure," I agreed. "You know what, I know the the perfect place, and it's only down the street from here," I added before he got carried away.

"Ah, that's great," he smiled, but I could tell that that wasn't what he had in mind when he suggested we go somewhere else. Too bad.

So we paid the bill — actually, Riley insisted on paying for both of us — and headed towards the club Jacob and Edward had taken the vampire teen into the night before. Despite the street being quite busy, the line at the entrance of the club moved quickly enough, and the bouncer let us in after a quick look at our IDs. I had to use my fake one, but apparently, Riley was 24 — slightly older than I'd thought he was.

Stepping in, my first reaction was to look around the club Bree had led the boys to yesterday, and I found it was different from every other nightclub I'd ever been in. Hologram stars glowed across the midnight colored ceiling, and only a few lights were scattered around the otherwise dark club.

"Um. Bella, what is this place?" Riley asked. I guess he'd never seen anything like it either.

As we walked to one of the tables that ringed the dance floor — which was pretty crowded — and sat down side-by-side, I decided I liked the place. It was… exotic.

"Cool, huh?" I turned in my chair to face him. He turned also, so our upper legs were brushing.

"Yeah, fantastic." It didn't sound like he meant it. But before I could say something, he leaned in.

Our lips met halfway and I sighed contentedly at the first touch. It had been so long since I'd kissed someone I didn't plan on killing afterwards. Someone who understood me and knew what I was. I hadn't realized how much I craved human company until that moment. I parted my lips and he slid his tongue inside my mouth. Then I felt my skin prickle with awareness and opened my eyes into the kiss.

Edward was standing near the entrance of the nightclub, staring straight at me and holding my gaze while I kissed Riley.

I slipped my tongue past Riley's lips, and that's when his taste started to shift. He no longer tasted human. He tasted like vampire. Vampire blood.

I swore and pulled back. Damn it, was my mind playing tricks on me? Had I been imagining I was kissing someone else?

"What's wrong?" he asked at my suddenly breaking the kiss.

"I, um—" Okay, what the hell was I supposed to tell him? "I need to use the ladies' room for a second."

But Edward was no where in sight when I looked up. Had I imagined him standing there? Illusion or not, I excused myself from Riley and walked away from the table, heading to the restroom across the nightclub.

When I got out, I finally spotted him. His back was against a wall in the corner of the club, away from everyone's sight. There was a woman in front of him. Her arms hung by her sides while he gripped her shoulders and he had his lips pressed to her throat. I froze, watching as he swallowed her blood. She didn't object… No, actually, she was shamelessly _grinding_ against him.

God, was he killing her? I know I had to do something, but my legs refused to go anywhere. I could just stare.

Edward's gaze suddenly lifted and his green eyes met my brown ones. I didn't look away. He didn't, either, just continues to swallow.

He pulled away from the woman a moment later. Surprisingly, her neck wasn't bleeding, it was only a little red.

"Now go," he ordered her. And just like that, she smiled and walked away. Then he made his way to me.

"What was that?" I hissed. "You let her go, just like that? She'll tell everyone!"

"Chill," he grinned and tapped his index finger to his temple, "I used a little something called mind control."

"So the girl's okay?" I asked. She had looked fine, but what did I know? Maybe she was off to die of blood loss in some empty alley or something.

"Of course she's okay," he laughed. "Now don't you worry, I'm—" he had taken a step forward and I retreated. He frowned, "Come on, Bella, seriously? Did you think I never fed?"

"I wondered…" I said, "But I didn't really stop to think about it much. So that's what you do? You don't kill them?"

"So that's what you thought?" he smiled. "No wonder you took me for a monster. No, I don't kill them."

"Huh…" I smiled a little, despite myself. That was pretty good news, if you ask me. "So what are you doing here anyways? Following me?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," he nudged my shoulder lightly, smirking. "So are you going to introduce me to your date or not?"

Thinking of what he'd witnessed before, I blushed and looked away. "Pfft, why would I?"

"Come on," he insisted. "Or are you afraid Daddy might not approve of him?"

"Argh, you and this daddy talk again are creeping me out!" I laughed. "Well, he did say he wanted to meet you… But you're going to have to promise me you won't bite him."

Edward threw his head back and laughed. It was a nice sight, but I wasn't sure why he found it so amusing. "He's not my type, I promise."

So I led the way back to the table I was sharing with Riley, but when we got there, he wasn't sitting where I'd left him. He wasn't anywhere in sight, actually.

"That's weird…He's not here," I commented, looking around.

"Really, Buff, what were you thinking? Dating a kid who runs off and hides at the sight of a superior male!" Edward laughed that slightly hysterical laughter of his.

"Superior male?" I repeated and cracked up laughing. "Who says that anyway?"

"So how about you change your partner for tonight?" he suggested, ignoring me and outstretching his arm. "I'll be the perfect gentleman. Unless you don't want me to be one."

In turn, I ignored the suggestive waggle of his eyebrows and looked around for Riley again. "Even if I wanted that, it wouldn't be right. I'm on a date with Riley already, I can't just ditch him for someone else."

"I'm pretty sure _you_ were the one who was ditched, darling. Now c'mon, forget this lowlife." He practically dragged me to the now-packed dance floor, squeezing us past the couples who danced on the edge. Once we were in the dead center, where there was probably more groping and making out going on than actually dancing, he spun me so my back was to him.

"Why'd you drag us all the way over here?" I called over the music.

"Music's too loud over there," he explained, "Hurts my ears!"

"You're impossible!" I felt like that was just an excuse, but for what I didn't know. I let it go. "I think you're out of luck! I suck at dancing! Trust me!"

His laughter caressed my ear as he bent down. "We'll have to fix that." I opened my mouth and started to protest before he continued, "Take it as part of your training to go after the big bad vamps."

I leaned my head back to look at him while I spoke, "I thought Jacob was the one who was training me."

"I wouldn't let anyone else be your coach for this," he chuckled.

Uh-oh. We were delving into dangerous territory. "Don't you try anything, or I swear I'll…"

"I only have your best interests in mind, of course." I felt more than saw his smile. "Now if you'll just move like this…"

Edward had one arm around my waist and held my hand with the other. He ignored the fast beat of the music that played and swayed slowly, hips and shoulders sliding past mine. Figuring I had no better option, I started to move with him, following the line of his body behind me.

"That's right," his breath against my ear was almost unbearably hot as he swept my hair to the side, exposing my neck.

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

"This is getting in the way of your studies," he said. The hand that was around my waist slid down the arm the other was holding, and he lightly tugged free an elastic from my wrist. With dexterous fingers, Edward combed my hair together and used it to tie my hair back into a high ponytail. After it was securely tied, he gave it an appreciative tug, "Much better."

"Thanks, Daddy," I joked. Hot laughter tickled my skin as his nose skimmed the side of my neck. Okay, not wise maybe.

"Get away from my neck," I warned, but my shiver probably gave away the halfheartedness of it.

"Why?" he taunted, and I felt his smile when he pressed a kiss to the spot where my neck met my shoulder.

"Don't!" I gasped, but couldn't stop myself from throwing my head back to give him better access.

"I told you I'd be nice, didn't I?" He brushed his lips upwards to my neck again, and my breath hitched when I felt a hot touch of tongue.

Okay, this was going too far and I doubted it was part of some training. But the truth was, I didn't really want him to stop. It felt nice. Still, part of me felt like a skank. I'd just been kissing Riley and now I was dancing with a vampire? That said, what had led me to kiss Riley was nothing, _nothing_ compared to what I was feeling now with said vampire. However, the fact remained that Edward _was_ a vampire, and the only good vampires were staked vampires.

"What're you thinking so hard about?" Edward asked, smoothing down the wrinkles that had formed in between my eyebrows. I bit my lip. "I told you this was all about training you, didn't I? So stop thinking so much about it. Just pretend I'm a vampire you're trying to lure out to kill, if that'll make you feel better," he said.

Finally surrendering to his low voice, I turned around to face the vampire. Both of his hands moved to hold my waist, as if fearing I'd run away. He shouldn't have worried. I was a goner. His eyes widened as I reached up and spread my hands across his chest.

"How am I doing so far, coach?" I grinned wickedly as his breath caught when I pressed closer against him. I then decided that I'd try to catch him off guard more often.

"Absurdly well," his arms went around my back, "Coach is being driven insane over here."

"Ah, is that so?" I have a slow twist of my hips against his, just like I'd seen someone else do. "Sorry…"

Smirking, he groaned and slid one of his hands down my back. "Don't be. Coach likes it."

I clicked my tongue at him and reached behind me to pull his hand back up. "No frisky hands, fang-boy."

"Damn," he said, sounding truly frustrated. I laughed. "You're enjoying this, aren't you, Buffy?"

"Of course. It's only fair you get a little payback for making me suffer during training with Jacob."

"Witch," his lips curved up in a gorgeous crooked smile.

My gaze fell past him and I gasped. "Holy shit, Edward!"

"What is it?" he turned around to see what had surprised me. More like _who_.

"Riley's over there!" I hissed and pulled on his hand forcefully. "He can't see me with you!"

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><p><strong>AN: Exams are over, finally! Now I'll stop slacking and finally finish posting BTVS as it is on YouTube so we can get on with it already x]**


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